Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Four, fair-minded A.A. history workers who helped me

Through the years--twenty in fact--I have worked with and benefitted from the labors of four AAs who deserve mention in these days when so many folks are dividing themselves into camps and barring the activities of others. One talented historical writer with immense sobriety has often spoken of the need for "freedom of speech" when it comes to writing about A.A. And these men provide a venue for just that.

Here they are in the order of my experience:

Ozzie L., of East Dorset, Vermont. Ozzie was the founder of the Wilson House. After he completed renovation of that historical museum, he set to work on the Griffith House where Bill Wilson was raised. Ozzie worked tirelessly until his death building book cases, research areas, and antique reminders of the Wilson days. But in my case, he decided to welcome my entire collection of 23,000 historical items, find a place for them, and catalogue them. And, fair minded as he was, he also welcomed the treasures of many others who had gathered or written on A.A. history. Today, the Griffith Library, East Dorset, Vermont, is the crown jewel repository of unbiased A.A. history presentations.

Diaz of Oklahoma. He began building the aabibliography website from scratch. And he gathered materials relevant to A.A. history from a myriad of sources - Oxford Group literature, the Bible, Rev. Shoemaker materials, devotionals, and historical writings by AAs of all stripes and colors. Diaz worked very very hard on a shoestring to build his website into one of the most comprehensive historical repositories on the web. He too has been impartial and fairminded in publishing the works of many, including myself, who are not always in agreement. But it was historical content that Diaz sought and posted. And it is still a great A.A. history resource.

Cory F. of Minnesota. He aligned himself with the 2000 A.A. International Convention activities in Minneapolis. He arranged for all sorts of A.A. speakers, including me. And then he arranged for the formation of Archives 2000 on the internet. Cory too was hardworking--moving forward on a shoestring. He welcomed writings from a great variety of A.A. historians, including me. And it mattered little to him whether they were Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish. If they had said something relevant, he selected the best of the writings and posted them for all to see. In addition, he gathered many historical archival materials and began posting them. He was a bird dog when it came to hunting down historical treasures. And he too was fair-minded--a pleasure to work with.

Jim who worked tirelessly on Silkworth.net. He had previously posted historical materials on another A.A. site, but found materials, including mine, being barred. Then Jim began an organizing and gathering of all kinds of historical manuscripts, writings, and articles, including mine. He helped the huge expansion of the Silkworth site to something in addition to an excellent historical resource about Dr. William D. Silkworth. He has probably the best historical website of them all. And he lays everything from every source before the viewer's eyes, in an extremely organized display, and censors nothing--though colleagues often try to push him in other directions. Today, though he no longer works alone, Jim is a man of faith. He is a man of integrity. He is courteous, kind, and fair. And his open-minded willingness to tell things the way the are instead of the way someone says they were is a tribute to the history gang of which I am a part.

The foregoing are my opinions. They endeavor to preserve the anonymity of the four stellar workers. And in my judgment they reflect what I believe is absolutely necessary if the revelation of long obscured, ignored, distorted, and missing variety of A.A. history is to become available and applicable to the recovery of the afflicted and the affected today. These four deserve our gratitude, and they sure have mine! Dick B.

About Me

Richard G. Burns holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Stanford University where he was Case Editor of the Stanford Law Review. He was a Phi Beta Kappa in his Junior Year at UC Berkeley. There he received an A.A. degree in economics with Honorable Mention. He was an Information and Education Specialist in the United States Army where he held the rank of Sgt. He attended the information-education school at Washington & Lee University. He practiced law in California from 1951 to 1986. He was president of the Corte Madera Chamber of Commerce, Corte Madera Center Merchants Council, Mill Valley Community Church, Redwoods Retirement Center, and Almonte District Improvemen Club. Also elected Director of the Almonte Sanitary District. He is a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and active recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous with continuous sobriety beginning April 21, 1986.

He writes under the pen name Dick B. He has devoted 24 years to researching the history and successes of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron; and published 46 titles, more than 1450 articles, and materials on Facebook, Twitter, MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com, Alcoholics Anonymous History.com, In the Rooms, Linked-in, Tumbler, MauiHistorian.Word Press.com, Aa Historian WordPress.com, AA History with Dick B. on cyber recovery social, Dick B. YouTube Channel, Articles Base, GoArticles.com, SearchWarp, Self Growth Experts, Social network forums on International Christian Recovery Coalition Forums, Recovery Internet Fellowship, Cyber Recovery, Daily Recovery, Christian Recovery Ministries, radio, TV, and over 70 audio blogs on the history subject. He regularly conducts radio interviews of Christian Recovery Leaders and Workers on www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com.

He is Executive Director of the International Christian Recovery Coalition and of Freedom Ranch Maui Incorporated. He is an Advisor to God's Way Ministry, a Christian Church and is also a consultant to Wyoming Pacific Oil Company. Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Law, Who's Who in Finance, and Gale's Contemporary Authors